Blackbird Roundelay
by ibuberu
Summary: It was her heart and her soul. — LanceKotone.


**World** – Game  
**Characters** – Lance, Kotone  
**Pairing **– Lance/Kotone  
**Genres** – Romance, Drama, General  
**Note(s)** – Someone hit me, I have no idea why I like this pairing. Oh _Heartgold_.

* * *

**Blackbird Roundelay  
**_if there is something to place all my trust in_

He allowed his placid charade to fall for a moment, sending her a genuinely enthusiastic smile. It was hard to control the unplaced mirth. It was odd that she had returned to the league after so long, he had assumed that she was wandering an obscure part of the neighbouring region. He had not considered the fact that she would, once again, barrel through his four partners – his eyes had flashed and the corners of his lips had twitched upon receiving the call from an incredibly sullen Will.

How long had it been? She was no different; everything was still kept in perfect, precise dollish place – long brunette hair, eyes aflame and signature hat framing the rest of her body. And _oh_, that was what had changed – winding curves that developed out of nowhere and travelled down into carefully sculpted legs and thinning, milky arms – was she eating well? The navy overalls now looked too short and a tad tight for her, her face no longer a portrait of childish glee and endearing innocence. The girl was finally maturing.

"Welcome back," he offered, his voice grinning with mild surprise.

"I'm home," she responded, shifting her weight from one leg to the other in a playful, taunting manner. The sphere of her Pokémon's capsule nestled snugly in her palm, was it still a Typlosion? Or had she gone and groomed a team of Kanto natives for this round? He did not like the idea of replacement – of going somewhere new and forgetting, leaving behind the old. But she was a teenager, and they were bound to do that, weren't they? Regardless of her infamous strength and stunning courage, she was – she would stay this way for another five years or so – merely a growing child.

"Anyway, I have… something to tell you, when I win this match," she fumbled, pulling at the edges of her hat.

"We'll talk about that after the battle," he quickly dismissed her, "for now, I want to see how much you've improved." He unclipped the first Dragonair from his belt as she jogged over to her place on the other end of the lengthy field. The two threw their hearts into the fray at the same, binding second. As his blue serpentine dragon burst out from its ball, attentive eyes and high-sounding chime, he witnessed a pelt of black materialize on her side. Flames bursting into tireless energy, the familiar fangs of a certain creature gleamed and the cry of trust and power pierced the chamber.

He smiled.

And the battle was over, she ran over to embrace her injured Ampharos, whispering to it with cherry lips and sweet nothings before withdrawing it. He ran a hand through his hair before crossing his arms, an amused countenance drifted over his face – he hadn't expected it to be such a grueling battle on both their parts, but even a tiny portion of his soul had expected her to claim victory. It was no surprise. It was humbling and humanizing at the same time.

She approached him with flushed cheeks and laced fingers, it was time for her to say her piece, but those doeful eyes were attached to the marble of the floors and her mouth stuttered as she began. "I-I wanted to tell you – Geez, I was sure I had practiced this enough times to get it right," she sighed through her jittering, her face becoming more red than expressionable. A hand wandered up to her chest, clutching the area around her heart. She stood statuesque before him, still barely peaking at the height of his chin, even with her hat on. She took in grand breaths and exhaled loudly, struggling to continue with what she wanted to tell him –

He held up an open palm.

"Come back in five years," he said as his Dragonite dispelled into his right hand. If this nagging, wonderous feeling was still there, it would prove to be real, to be solid and raw and important. He had found something to pin all his wishes and trust on, to place idealistic dreams and actually feel what love and hope tasted like, "we will have just one more match to see how much you've grown, and then, I will listen whole-heartedly to what you have to say. I have faith in you, because…" but the last three of his words lingered back in his throat. She was too young, she would not understand yet. He clenched and unclenched his hands, produced a faltering laugh to messily end his sentence, waited for her reply with unblinking eyes and a muted heart. She tilted her head to the side, her hand dropping from her breast as she bit her lip, tossing and turning over his words. It was a long time, five years - sixty months, countless minutes apart, the looming distance. Her brow curled adorably, and a shadow of doubtful but heartbreaking maturity flickered across her face.

"... Yes," Kotone promised. It was her heart and her soul.

They'd dance all over again.

_it would be you.  
_**end**


End file.
